president obama flew back to washington from hawaii overnight to work on the plan to avoid the "fiscal cliff." cbs reporter tara mergener says congress remains gridlocked and fewer americans expect any progress before the new year. >>> reporter: senators and staffers will be filling these empty hallways today trying to work out a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff." higher taxes will give the average american about $1,500 less to spend next year. and economists believe the $110 billion spending cuts will result in more layoffs. senator harry reid has a plan to keep taxes low for everyone making less than $250,000 a year as well as short term spending cuts until a bigger dooley can be reached. >> it is going to be a patch because in four days we can't solve everything. >> reporter: while senators try to brave the bad weather that has hit many parts of the country, in order to make it back here to washington, house leaders say they will not leave home unless the senate passes its bill first. >> good morning? >> reporter: house republicans scuttled the proposal from speaker john boehner last